December 30, 2006
MMMMM. Coffee
Man o man and sakes alive, I loves me some coffee. It is everything a hot beverage should be!
That's what I was thinking as I sit here typing this, so I thought I'd share. But the real reason for this post is to let you all know that I will indeed be very scarce for the foreseeable future. I know, I know I've already been pretty scarce, but now that ALL the .45 parts are in the same place at the same time, I can start working on all the fitting. And there's gonna be a bunch of it!
Everything on the frame and slide are pretty much over-sized so you can custom fit them to your parts. I expected the frame and slide to have a little more play in them than what they do, so as they are, the slide will not go more than one third of the way onto the frame rails. Then both of the safeties have to be hand-fit and the sights and so on and on. Don't get me wrong, this is exactly what I signed on for when I decided to to do this but I'm doing the whole thing by hand. Which means removing literally thousandths of an inch at a time with hand files and various grits of sand paper. REAL gunsmiths have table mills and lathes and the like to remove metal in very short order. But therein lies the problem: if you make a mistake with a motorized tool, you remove a lot of metal in very short order. If you make a mistake with a file, you have probably removed something on the order of .0005 or .001 of an inch. Which is the way to go if you're still learning, just like me.
Another thing sucking up all my usual free time will be that after I finish with the fitting, I'm also going to be transcribing all the steps. The plan is to save all the writing as different sections, or chapters, in html that I can burn to a CD at a later time so I'll have it all in one place without having to resort to publishing stuff on the web that will just be lost later. So I figure between the build and writing about the build, I'm probably going to be pretty occupied for the next month or so. Maybe less, but you'll know when I'm finished. I'll try to keep you posted on progress as I can, but I ain't making any promises. You dig? Good. Now go have yo-sef a Happy New Year!
Oh yeah, can you believe I've been at this for 3 years? Neither can I.
That's what I was thinking as I sit here typing this, so I thought I'd share. But the real reason for this post is to let you all know that I will indeed be very scarce for the foreseeable future. I know, I know I've already been pretty scarce, but now that ALL the .45 parts are in the same place at the same time, I can start working on all the fitting. And there's gonna be a bunch of it!
Everything on the frame and slide are pretty much over-sized so you can custom fit them to your parts. I expected the frame and slide to have a little more play in them than what they do, so as they are, the slide will not go more than one third of the way onto the frame rails. Then both of the safeties have to be hand-fit and the sights and so on and on. Don't get me wrong, this is exactly what I signed on for when I decided to to do this but I'm doing the whole thing by hand. Which means removing literally thousandths of an inch at a time with hand files and various grits of sand paper. REAL gunsmiths have table mills and lathes and the like to remove metal in very short order. But therein lies the problem: if you make a mistake with a motorized tool, you remove a lot of metal in very short order. If you make a mistake with a file, you have probably removed something on the order of .0005 or .001 of an inch. Which is the way to go if you're still learning, just like me.
Another thing sucking up all my usual free time will be that after I finish with the fitting, I'm also going to be transcribing all the steps. The plan is to save all the writing as different sections, or chapters, in html that I can burn to a CD at a later time so I'll have it all in one place without having to resort to publishing stuff on the web that will just be lost later. So I figure between the build and writing about the build, I'm probably going to be pretty occupied for the next month or so. Maybe less, but you'll know when I'm finished. I'll try to keep you posted on progress as I can, but I ain't making any promises. You dig? Good. Now go have yo-sef a Happy New Year!
Oh yeah, can you believe I've been at this for 3 years? Neither can I.
// posted by wayne @ 12/30/2006 10:31:00 PM 
December 25, 2006
Happy Happy, Merry Merry.
December 21, 2006
Now It's On.
That's right, ladies and gents. The final two pieces of the puzzle are now on their way to your friend and humble narrator. Yesterday I ordered the frame and slide for the .45, and today they shipped. I didn't get a tracking number (because I was half-asleep) when I called to verify the order, so I can't tell you exactly where it may be, but you'll be the second to know when it arrives.
Oh, happy day.
Oh, happy day.
// posted by wayne @ 12/21/2006 03:45:00 AM
December 20, 2006
SOMEbody's getting a call from PETA!
Ozzy Ozbourne ain't got a thing on these guys. By the way, while I have always found rabbit to be tasty and muy delicioso, I am a strong advocate of as quick and painless a killing as possible for said rabbit. By the way, what kind of handover could possibly require this type of ceremony? Nevermind, I don't want to know.
Creepy Pic from Yahoo!
Creepy Pic from Yahoo!
// posted by wayne @ 12/20/2006 08:40:00 PM
December 13, 2006
Why is it...
That America as a whole does not seem to care about people who aren't a size 0 (or have a 29" waist for us guys) young and beautiful? (You don't have to answer that, I know why). Aimee and I have talked about this on numerous occasions, but most often when there is some critical breaking news story about yet ANOTHER young, co-ed who's gone missing. I'm not trying to belittle anyone's suffering here, but why is it that we're only shown the disappearances of the "beautiful people"? (Again, I really know but I'm just trying to make a point). You think about your Natalee Holloway's and the Laci Peterson's and your Brooke Wilberger's and you'll notice one common thread--well another common thread--they were all young, white and "easy on the eyes" as The David Letterman is fond of saying. Let's face it: if THIS person went missing, do you really think there would be nation-wide coverage on the evening news? Don't hold your breath.
And why is it that people are now genuinely terrified of guns? There are some otherwise perfectly rational people who, upon merely seeing a gun, act as if they're in mortal danger and must immediately flee the area. When my family moved to Oklahoma, back in '78, gun racks with MULTIPLE guns therein were a common sight. And not just in LE vehicles--reg'lar folks would often have a 22 rifle and perhaps a lever action cradled gently for the whole world to see in the back window of the cab. Today if you see that, you're most likely in a small-town where common sense prevails. A lot of you know (and those of you who didn't, do now) that I have a carry permit, and carry as often as possible to make sure A) that I'm exercising my Constitutional right to keep and bear arms and B) I'm armed should the need arise. And, if we think about it, that last clause separates those who get it from those who don't. Those who get it will read that and think "right on, Wayne, you pack that heat" and those who do not get it will immediately think "why do YOU need to carry, Wayne? YOU aren't law enforcement. YOU are 32 times more likely to be killed by your own gun in your own home than someone who doesn't own a gun". And by "get it" I am talking about the second amendment. And then there's another class altogether--Sarah Brady, Diane Feinstein and my favorite senator Chuck Schumer--who want nothing more than to "make America safe" by taking away YOUR Constitutional right to pack that heat. Tell me, which criminal EVER stopped to take heed of the Brady laws? Which convicted felon stopped and said to himself "No, I'd better not buy that pistol. That would be a violation of my parole and a giant felony!" That's right, not a single one of them. Need to hear it from the horse's mouth? Watch THIS video and be amazed at the simple logic contained inside. And be amazed twice when you realize ABC actually did a piece that didn't make it out to be the weapon's fault that the felon is in the pokey.
And why is it that we've become so disgustingly PC in this country? I remember back in tha day, if you failed a class, you took a class over. Nowadays, it seems if you fail a class, you get a prize for having the stones to go against the grain and demonstrate your trailblazing independence by, you guessed it, failing miserably. When did that happen? When did people decide that Little Johnny's precious self esteem was more important than doing things the right way? And here's something that baffles me to no freaking end: the cars have printed on their doors "Bureau of Indian Affairs" and the signs at the state fair read "Indian Tacos" and there is even a National Indian Gaming Commission (really, look it up!) but if YOU, whitebread, say that word, lookout! I could provide another example, but I think you see where that one's going. Along that line, how about all the sporting teams being sued for having Native American mascots? And why hasn't anyone sued Savage Firearms for their "degrading" logo? And let's not forget the Arizona State Board of Nursing suing a burger joint because they don't like the way the waitresses look! Insanity abounds, people, and I'm not expecting it to get any better.
I think I can blame about 99% of this crap on either the media in general or (my favorite go-to scapegoats) the way-to-enthusiastic, touchy-feely, "let's make the world a better place by loving everyone" liberals. (Even if it isn't their actual fault, it sure is fun to blame the lib'rals, ain't it? It seems to really get their blood pressure up!) Not that I disagree with the concept that the world could use more love, but there are just some people out there that you can't fix with love. To my highly opinionated, curmudgeonly-before-my-time mind, there is a large portion of these delusional dreamers who, sadly, will only be righted with a proper application of a boot to the bottom--aka the swift kick in the ass. Please don't be one of those people. However, if you've taken offense to anything I've written here tonight you already are, so go kick yourself in the butt!
And why is it that people are now genuinely terrified of guns? There are some otherwise perfectly rational people who, upon merely seeing a gun, act as if they're in mortal danger and must immediately flee the area. When my family moved to Oklahoma, back in '78, gun racks with MULTIPLE guns therein were a common sight. And not just in LE vehicles--reg'lar folks would often have a 22 rifle and perhaps a lever action cradled gently for the whole world to see in the back window of the cab. Today if you see that, you're most likely in a small-town where common sense prevails. A lot of you know (and those of you who didn't, do now) that I have a carry permit, and carry as often as possible to make sure A) that I'm exercising my Constitutional right to keep and bear arms and B) I'm armed should the need arise. And, if we think about it, that last clause separates those who get it from those who don't. Those who get it will read that and think "right on, Wayne, you pack that heat" and those who do not get it will immediately think "why do YOU need to carry, Wayne? YOU aren't law enforcement. YOU are 32 times more likely to be killed by your own gun in your own home than someone who doesn't own a gun". And by "get it" I am talking about the second amendment. And then there's another class altogether--Sarah Brady, Diane Feinstein and my favorite senator Chuck Schumer--who want nothing more than to "make America safe" by taking away YOUR Constitutional right to pack that heat. Tell me, which criminal EVER stopped to take heed of the Brady laws? Which convicted felon stopped and said to himself "No, I'd better not buy that pistol. That would be a violation of my parole and a giant felony!" That's right, not a single one of them. Need to hear it from the horse's mouth? Watch THIS video and be amazed at the simple logic contained inside. And be amazed twice when you realize ABC actually did a piece that didn't make it out to be the weapon's fault that the felon is in the pokey.
And why is it that we've become so disgustingly PC in this country? I remember back in tha day, if you failed a class, you took a class over. Nowadays, it seems if you fail a class, you get a prize for having the stones to go against the grain and demonstrate your trailblazing independence by, you guessed it, failing miserably. When did that happen? When did people decide that Little Johnny's precious self esteem was more important than doing things the right way? And here's something that baffles me to no freaking end: the cars have printed on their doors "Bureau of Indian Affairs" and the signs at the state fair read "Indian Tacos" and there is even a National Indian Gaming Commission (really, look it up!) but if YOU, whitebread, say that word, lookout! I could provide another example, but I think you see where that one's going. Along that line, how about all the sporting teams being sued for having Native American mascots? And why hasn't anyone sued Savage Firearms for their "degrading" logo? And let's not forget the Arizona State Board of Nursing suing a burger joint because they don't like the way the waitresses look! Insanity abounds, people, and I'm not expecting it to get any better.
I think I can blame about 99% of this crap on either the media in general or (my favorite go-to scapegoats) the way-to-enthusiastic, touchy-feely, "let's make the world a better place by loving everyone" liberals. (Even if it isn't their actual fault, it sure is fun to blame the lib'rals, ain't it? It seems to really get their blood pressure up!) Not that I disagree with the concept that the world could use more love, but there are just some people out there that you can't fix with love. To my highly opinionated, curmudgeonly-before-my-time mind, there is a large portion of these delusional dreamers who, sadly, will only be righted with a proper application of a boot to the bottom--aka the swift kick in the ass. Please don't be one of those people. However, if you've taken offense to anything I've written here tonight you already are, so go kick yourself in the butt!
// posted by wayne @ 12/13/2006 02:33:00 AM
December 06, 2006
Pennsylvania town mulls recommending guns for all - Yahoo! News
Pennsylvania town mulls recommending guns for all - Yahoo! News
This is the same concept that gave birth to our second amendment--stating, essentially, that every man be armed and prepared should he need to defend family or country. However, if you look at the article, the Brady Campaign seems to think this concept is "ridiculously silly".
Have I mentioned how much I absolutely loathe the Brady Campaign and their idiot-logic shenanigans? They carry about as much cred as PETA in my book.
This is the same concept that gave birth to our second amendment--stating, essentially, that every man be armed and prepared should he need to defend family or country. However, if you look at the article, the Brady Campaign seems to think this concept is "ridiculously silly".
Have I mentioned how much I absolutely loathe the Brady Campaign and their idiot-logic shenanigans? They carry about as much cred as PETA in my book.
// posted by wayne @ 12/06/2006 07:52:00 PM
Busy
I haven't abandoned you, gentle reader. I have been busy working on another project. I've been wanting to do this since getting the new Cougar and I finally finished it. Eventually, I hope to have this published to the Beretta-E site, which is kind of like Wikipedia for all things Beretta. You may now bask in the glorious glow of my latest written work:
Wayne's Cougar Article
Mmmmmm. Tasty.
Wayne's Cougar Article
Mmmmmm. Tasty.
// posted by wayne @ 12/06/2006 03:16:00 PM
